Jump to content

KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread


Leonov

Recommended Posts

Hello all, sorry to divert the conversation a bit but I've been looking into building a desktop pc in the pretty near future to replace my tired old laptop.

The main goal here is to end up with a computer that I can be happy with for a number of years, and hopefully have the upgrade potential to extend its usefulness even further. I don't currently place many games on the computer, that's what my xbox is for...however, I suppose that could change. At any rate, KSP is certainly by far my greatest demand at the moment.

 

At any rate, I'd appreciate any and all critiques on the below part list, keeping in mind that I'm trying to make something that I'll still be happy with 3 or 4 years down the road. Money is a significant factor here...

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fwLwnn

 

you'll note I did not include a conventional hard drive...I already have a 1tb external drive, I was hoping I would be able to use that for the extra storage I might need. I currently use it for that sort of thing already- storing things I don't use everyday. If that's a bad idea please let me know.

 

 

Thanks for your time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, LoSBoL said:

because every 'K' spec I5 runs easily at 4,6 GHz and the I7's at 4,8 GHz. I wished those Ryzens could match those speeds...

Those clocks speeds have not been a given in the latter generations. Plus that overclocking on Intel means a larger investment regarding CPU and motherboard.

Ryzen will get there sooner or later. This is just the first generation, which generally means there is a lot to be learned and a lot to be optimised. For instance, AMD made tremendous progress going from the Phenom to the Phenom II.

Edited by Camacha
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, cgoodnow said:

Hello all, sorry to divert the conversation a bit but I've been looking into building a desktop pc in the pretty near future to replace my tired old laptop.

The main goal here is to end up with a computer that I can be happy with for a number of years, and hopefully have the upgrade potential to extend its usefulness even further. I don't currently place many games on the computer, that's what my xbox is for...however, I suppose that could change. At any rate, KSP is certainly by far my greatest demand at the moment.

 

At any rate, I'd appreciate any and all critiques on the below part list, keeping in mind that I'm trying to make something that I'll still be happy with 3 or 4 years down the road. Money is a significant factor here...

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fwLwnn

 

you'll note I did not include a conventional hard drive...I already have a 1tb external drive, I was hoping I would be able to use that for the extra storage I might need. I currently use it for that sort of thing already- storing things I don't use everyday. If that's a bad idea please let me know.

 

 

Thanks for your time.

That's a pretty tight budget. I don't know where you are located and how accesible the second hand market is, but I would realy consider buying second hand.  You should be able to get a massively better performing machine that will last you a whole lot longer. With Intel lacking on performance progression in the last few years a 2014 machine with an 4th gen I5 or even I7 would cost you about the same.

If new is what you want, and you can wait a few more months, it could be profitable to wait for the introduction of the Ryzen 3.

My take on your wishlist if you won't or can't consider second hand:
You can get a digital windows licence for about a 3rd of that price
I'd opt to at least getting an I3 instead of the Pentium.
I'd opt to get 16Gb ram, if you are going to stick to 8 GB, then get 2x 4GB do make use of the dual channel capability
If you don't intend to game much, or if you just intend to play KSP, then you could consider running it of the CPU's internal graphics card, you won't be able to use many graphics enhancing mods, but it will run stock KSP fine. You can then add a graphics card later. (although at this point and time, the GTX1050Ti is pretty good bang for buck)
The PSU is cutting it close, if you want to upgrade to a better graphics card in the future, you probably are going to need a higher output PSU.

For the external drive, it's probably going to be dead slow when connected threw USB, If you can get the drive out of its casing and into the tower it will run without an performance penalty. You loose the 'external' part off course.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, LoSBoL said:

I'd opt to at least getting an I3 instead of the Pentium.

That was true for past generations, but with Kaby Lake the Pentiums got hyperthreading, now they have almost the same performance as an i3 for half the price...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@cgoodnow

G4560 isn't a bad thing if your budget is tight at the moment, you have the ability to switch to more potent unlocked i5/i7later on which will guarantee you optimal performance for KSP. With all Ryzens sadly you hit the wall at 4 GHz. And I'm writing this as a Ryzen owner. Even with your low end PSU and Mobo I bet you could find a nice 6600k/6700k/7600k/7700k in a year when new HEDT platforms hit the market and many intel users will sell their old cpu's. I would personally go then for used, highly binned cpu that could achieve 4.5-4.8 at low voltages like 1.1-1.2 V so it won't stress your VRMs and PSU. In this perspective it might be wise to shell out a bit more cash for cheap z- mobo which allows unlocked cpus to hit their potential.

Edited by riocrokite
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello all. I posted a few months back with a potential PC build for a friend and got some great advice. Unfortunately stuff happened and he did not get around to building his PC at that time. Of course, the world of PC hardware changes quickly so I put together a new build https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jCyhr7. I would appreciate if anyone could provide feedback and/or recommendations. Now for more info about the build: My friend is looking to build a general-purpose/gaming PC that will remain upgradeable for the next 5-6 years. His budget is $800 - $1,000 including the PC itself as well as peripherals (keyboard, mouse and monitor) as well as an operating system (included in my system build). If anyone has any suggestions in order to improve this build please let me know. Thank you all in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@robopilot99 This really cuts the budget close, but it includes a mouse, keyboard, 60Hz 1080p 24" IPS monitor, and a Ryzen 5 1600 (6-core/12-thread and 3.2GHz stock clock speed)/RX 580 8GB. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/WwrN7h

It did seem you needed a network router, so it might end up around $1010, a little over budget. The AM4 socket is going to be used until DDR5 RAM is introduced AFAIK, which I've heard will be around 2020. Intel's LGA1151 socket is being phased out as well, so an AMD Ryzen processor will have the best futureproofing right now. The RX 580 8GB blows the 3GB 1060 out of the water as well, I can run games 1080p Ultra 60FPS with my RX 480 8GB. Later on he can get a aftermarket cooler and overclock the processor up to ~4GHz.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whelp, Intel seems intent on giving AMD as much of its market share as it can. Right now, high clocks and sound overclocking are the main selling points of their K-series processors and are the defining qualities AMD cannot match with Ryzen. Unfortunately, people have been experiencing overheating problems with chips like the 7700K. Intel's response is apparently that they should stop overclocking their unlocked processors.

Edited by Camacha
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Few further remarks, ditch the 24 inch monitor and get an ulta wide 29 inch monitor, since monitors outlive computers, you only have few oppertunities to get a good monitor, and youre absolutely gonna love it.
Get an digital Windows licence, you really don't need the box and disc and could save yourself a lot of money you can invest elsewhere (see first remark :wink: )
B/G/N wifi?  If you need wifi, I'd get something that supports AC
Do you still need an optical drive?
8 GB in an 1000 dollar system, hmmm, make it 16 if you can.
 

Edited by LoSBoL
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know if its worldwide, but in Europe ASUS is dumping Z170/Z270/X99 mainboards in combination with 6th and 7th gen I5/I7 K processors. They feel Ryzens breathing down their necks :D and are offering pretty sweet cashback deals up to € 200 till the end of june.

Thought I'd share

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Surface Pro 5, or rather, the Surface Pro without any numeral indication, has been announced. I am particularly excited about the addition of a tilt sensor to the pen, which appears to be bumping the device that much further into professional territory. Other improvements are more incremental, but they are welcome nonetheless. Has anything changed regarding the eye watering price? Nope. They are still stupidly expensive.

I am very curious what the reviews will say, and, of course, what my own experience will be :) As a bonus, Microsoft again nailed the release video. They are really hitting their stride when it comes to slick releases.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey all,

I will be off to high school soon, and my current gaming rig [i5-4460/8GB/HD4600] is showing its age. As such, I will be building a new computer. :)

Obviously, my dorm room probably cannot accomodate a full tower PC as well as a 27" monitor (my current setup), so I will be building in the mini-ITX form factor, and will be using my Chromebook as a remote head [monitor/keyboard].

Here is my current setup: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TbZvQV

My budget is $1,500, but (as you can see) I have left a bit of leeway for purchasing more games. :P

Could you all give me several tips on how I can get the most bang for the buck?

Some notes to keep in mind:

  • I may be doing some very mild overclocking to squeeze a bit more juice out of my processor. Emphasis on mild: this is a mini-ITX case, after all, and I've been told that burning down the dorm is probably bad for my health. :sticktongue:
  • I am willing to switch to AMD processors/graphics cards. In fact, nothing is set in stone. Modify it to your hearts' content. :)
  • I will be using Linux (and installing Windows in a virtual machine for games that don't have Linux support) as my main operating system.

I will be grateful for any suggestions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bought a workstation a class lower than your requirements last year (Linux Debian 8, now 9). I am not a specialist in these things, but this setup works and is fast:

Board Z170 Gaming, 16GB Ram (fastest the board can make without overclock), i7 6700k, Strix GTX970 4GB, 4*3TB 7200/min (Raid), power supply, midi tower, half a handful of silent fans ...

Maybe you can upgrade to the next generation of everything in the meantime. I'd just not recommend the newest fancy stuff, it's usually not worth the price if the ego permits :-)

 

Edit: oh, but looking at your partlist your momentary pc is probably not slower than mine, except for multithreading.

... maybe you can just move the parts into a mini tower with a handful of fans ? I remember a time when a pc blocked the whole desk :-)

 

Edited by Green Baron
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Green Baron said:

I'd just not recommend the newest fancy stuff, it's usually not worth the price if the ego permits

That's how I think about it to really. how much gain is there for the money spent? have you thought about just replacing mainboard so it'll fit in a smaller package, throw in another 8GB and upgrade the graphicscard to a 1060 (or second hand 970?)  You'd be up and running within 500 bucks (maybe find a second hand 4690K/4790K?)

Especially if you don't intend to go wild with a 4k monitor and will just be streaming it to a Chromebook (what resolution is that anyway? And if 4K, will you really be seeing a difference on a small screen?)
I'd say it would be a overkill.

18 hours ago, Camacha said:

The Surface Pro 5, or rather, the Surface Pro without any numeral indication, has been announced. I am particularly excited about the addition of a tilt sensor to the pen, which appears to be bumping the device that much further into professional territory. Other improvements are more incremental, but they are welcome nonetheless. Has anything changed regarding the eye watering price? Nope. They are still stupidly expensive.

I am very curious what the reviews will say, and, of course, what my own experience will be :) As a bonus, Microsoft again nailed the release video. They are really hitting their stride when it comes to slick releases.

 

definatelly drewling material, but that pricetag makes it an absolute nono for me...  (And it does not fit another of my criteria 'can my 2 year old daughter 'stand on it' without breaking' :o:wink: )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TotallyNotHuman_ said:

Hey all,

I will be off to high school soon, and my current gaming rig [i5-4460/8GB/HD4600] is showing its age. As such, I will be building a new computer. :)

Obviously, my dorm room probably cannot accomodate a full tower PC as well as a 27" monitor (my current setup), so I will be building in the mini-ITX form factor, and will be using my Chromebook as a remote head [monitor/keyboard].

Here is my current setup: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TbZvQV

My budget is $1,500, but (as you can see) I have left a bit of leeway for purchasing more games. :P

Could you all give me several tips on how I can get the most bang for the buck?

Some notes to keep in mind:

  • I may be doing some very mild overclocking to squeeze a bit more juice out of my processor. Emphasis on mild: this is a mini-ITX case, after all, and I've been told that burning down the dorm is probably bad for my health. :sticktongue:
  • I am willing to switch to AMD processors/graphics cards. In fact, nothing is set in stone. Modify it to your hearts' content. :)
  • I will be using Linux (and installing Windows in a virtual machine for games that don't have Linux support) as my main operating system.

I will be grateful for any suggestions.

The parts look fine to me, but make sure you're double checking part clearances. For example, that 1070 is 10.5" long, but the case can only handle up to 10" without removing some of the drive bays. Not sure which drive bays need to come out, but you may want to find a smaller 1070. Their clearance specs might also be plain wrong (they are for my case on that site, a Phantom 410), so double check that from another source.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice, @Randox. I am only using one 3.5" hard drive (with a M.2 boot drive, as you probably noticed), so I don't think that it will matter much. Plus, I want that Founders Edition card. :sticktongue:

On the Thermaltake website, it says the "Outer Chassis" graphics card clearance is 11.4" long. Whatever that means. Perhaps I have to take off the front panel for it to work? icon_think.gif

The "Inner Chassis" clearance (i.e., the one listed on PCPartPicker) is 10". No problems there.

Edited by TotallyNotHuman_
Clarification
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TotallyNotHuman_ said:

On the Thermaltake website, it says the "Outer Chassis" graphics card clearance is 11.4" long. Whatever that means. Perhaps I have to take off the front panel for it to work? icon_think.gif

pic5.jpg

It looks like they are talking about that extra space right next to the fan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fun story, my PC started rebooting unexpectedly today.

Opened case, smelled dead electronics from the (very hot) PSU. Uh Oh...

Opened PSU, saw huge burn mark on inside of case. Thought "Damn, it's Sunday and I don't have another PSU". :(

Closer inspection reveals it's the fan controller (switching transistors & sense resistors had gotten hot, melted into plastic insulator, shorted to case).

Ripped fan controller board out, brought fan wires out of case & jammed into FDD power plug...

Powered it back up, and here we are. :D

Yay for modular power supply designs and thermal protection. Boo for lousy sheet plastic case insulators. One little design flaw really messes up your day.

Now for the old "do I fix properly, or just replace it?" question...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, steve_v said:

Yay for modular power supply designs and thermal protection. Boo for lousy sheet plastic case insulators. One little design flaw really messes up your day.

It sounds like the reverse is true. You had a pretty catastrophic failure - things do not get that hot without reason - and proper engineering saved the rest of your cherished hardware.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Camacha said:

It sounds like the reverse is true. You had a pretty catastrophic failure - things do not get that hot without reason - and proper engineering saved the rest of your cherished hardware.

For the moment I can't postmortem it properly, as it's in use.

Another unit has been ordered, as not having a spare is silly, so I'll likely investigate the root cause when I have a go at fixing that board. First step is patching up the tracks it blew off the PCB... then it can be tested.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, RocketMan-Explorer said:

On other news, I want to get one of these:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/P3Kh2R

I would advise against buying any of the old AMD chips. They will not provide you with a great single thread speed. You can either opt to go for the Ryzen 5 chip for great gaming a a lot of bang for your buck, or you can hold out a bit longer and wait for Ryzen 3 or the APUs that will probably appear fairly soon.

Any of those options should service your KSP or general gaming needs much better than this system.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RocketMan-Explorer said:

MacBook Pro, 13-inch, mid-2010. Can barely run KSP on 15 fps at medium settings. Ouch. :(

 

On other news, I want to get one of these:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/P3Kh2R

Yeah, don't get any older AMD chips. Either get a Ryzen 5 or wait for what the APUs/Ryzen 3 has to offer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, RocketMan-Explorer said:

MacBook Pro, 13-inch, mid-2010. Can barely run KSP on 15 fps at medium settings. Ouch. :(

 

On other news, I want to get one of these:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/P3Kh2R

I notice you have a link to microsoft for like 140 dollars. Can I direct you to this video?

I have tried it and it does actually work (not a scam or anything)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, qzgy said:

I notice you have a link to microsoft for like 140 dollars. Can I direct you to this video?

 

There is some discussion about whether or not these licences are conforming to Microsoft's conditions. They are actual working licenses, but you might not be conforming to the terms and condition specified, making it technically an illegal copy. They are likely resold MSDN keys or coming from a similar source intended for different purposes. Some also suspect Microsoft does not care about this use of the licenses, due to them wanting everyone to use Windows 10 as soon as possible.

If you do not care about conforming to the license terms and are just interested in a working key, it seems to be a viable option.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...